If the sales contract for my real estate purchase in Mexico is in Spanish and English and if there is a difference in the two contracts, which one controls?
Francisco Araiza - interlago realestate
Mexico is a Spanish-speaking country so the Spanish contract takes control in the court. However, normally the sales contracts are done in English. As an example, here in Chapala, we have a group and we use the same type of contract in all of our offices. We have the contrast in English and Spanish.
If you do not speak English and you are buying a house, you can ask your realtor and he would tell you what to do. Normally, we do the contracts in English...
Mexico is a Spanish-speaking country so the Spanish contract takes control in the court. However, normally the sales contracts are done in English. As an example, here in Chapala, we have a group and we use the same type of contract in all of our offices. We have the contrast in English and Spanish.
If you do not speak English and you are buying a house, you can ask your realtor and he would tell you what to do. Normally, we do the contracts in English because the contract is like a promise and therefore, you should be able to understand it. Your deed is the most important. It is what you sign so it is important that you understand what it says.
Most foreigners go to their lawyers and have it checked and most of the times they are assured not to worry and that they could use their English contract because it is a faithful translation of the Spanish contract, so it is not a problem.
Can I get a good caregiver in Portugal and what is the cost of a good caregiver in Portugal?
Juan Matias - BLUE Boutique Hostel & SUITES
Yes, you can get a good caregiver in Portugal. But the way to do it in Portugal is not to just put an advert and wait for people to knock on your door and expect someone who is brilliant. You have to to have references like any other country in the world. Even in America, if you want a babysitter, you want references. You want someone who knows that person and that’s exactly the same here in Portugal.
In Portugal there’s no difficulty in finding in people because...
Yes, you can get a good caregiver in Portugal. But the way to do it in Portugal is not to just put an advert and wait for people to knock on your door and expect someone who is brilliant. You have to to have references like any other country in the world. Even in America, if you want a babysitter, you want references. You want someone who knows that person and that’s exactly the same here in Portugal.
In Portugal there’s no difficulty in finding in people because the unemployment rate in Portugal at the moment is 18%. So a lot of people, the unemployed, when they cannot find jobs, they apply for either taking care of children or elder people, so it’s actually quite easy to find that sort of help. You get people who would really take care, bathe the elder people, cook them a proper meal, all of this. But if the elder gets sick or has a stroke or something, they would not be prepared to help them medically. They would have to call 112, which is our version of 911.
You can hire more sophisticated help such as nurses, but then the price increases a lot. You can have an average healthcare worker with no medical experience full-time working for you for €700 to €800 (US $780 to $890) a month. A live- in person would cost around $1,000 a month. If it’s a person with medical expertise and a degree, it will cost you triple.
What's the overall cost of living in Boquete, Panama?
Jackie Lange - Panama Relocation Tours
The overall cost of living in Boquete depends on what kind of house that you live in. When I first moved here I paid $600 a month for rent for a little 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom house. That was all-inclusive; furnished, all utilities included, but it was only about 1,200 square feet. There are other people who live in a gated community in a 5,000 square foot house and their cost is going to be more.
After talking with hundreds of people who live there, I...
The overall cost of living in Boquete depends on what kind of house that you live in. When I first moved here I paid $600 a month for rent for a little 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom house. That was all-inclusive; furnished, all utilities included, but it was only about 1,200 square feet. There are other people who live in a gated community in a 5,000 square foot house and their cost is going to be more.
After talking with hundreds of people who live there, I would say that, including rent, the average person spends about $2,000 a month if they do not live in a gated community. If they live in a real fancy house, it’s got to be a lot more.
Personally, I purchased the rental property so, without a mortgage, my actual cost now is closer to $1,000 to $1,200 a month. That’s for groceries, eating out a lot, health insurance, car insurance, setting money aside to put new tires on my car once in a while, cellphone, electricity, internet, everything.
The cost of living in Dallas, Texas, where I’m from, is more than double the cost of living in Boquete.
In Boquete, I don’t even have any property taxes at all on the house I purchased and I won’t for another 13 years, but I paid about $4,500 a year in property taxes for my house in Texas. This is not to mention the $400 electric bill that I had in Texas because it was so hot you had to have your air conditioning running. My electric bill here in Boquete runs about $22 to $25 a month.
So the savings are really big in some areas when you live in a place where you don’t have to spend a lot on heating and air conditioning and you pay zero in property taxes. My water bill in Panama is only $60 a year and that includes trash collection. My water bill in Texas was about $60 a month, not including trash collection. All these are big differences.
(House in Boquete, Panama that a tour guest of relocation specialist Jackie Lange is house sitting, pictured.)
In general, how does the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) affect me if I move overseas?
Jay Butler - Asset Protection Services of America
What the FATCA is the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act?
Like a thief in the night, President Barack Hussein Obama enacted Public Law 111-147 (H.R. 2847) just after midnight at 00:01 hours on March 18th, 2010. This law provides the "fiscal transparency" promised under an Obama administration - but just not from the government; it is the citizenry who are subject to such scrutiny.
On February 8th, 2012 the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released the Proposed Regulations for
What the FATCA is the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act?
Like a thief in the night, President Barack Hussein Obama enacted Public Law 111-147 (H.R. 2847) just after midnight at 00:01 hours on March 18th, 2010. This law provides the "fiscal transparency" promised under an Obama administration - but just not from the government; it is the citizenry who are subject to such scrutiny.
On February 8th, 2012 the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released the Proposed Regulations for the FATCA implementation and subsequent instructions on how and when to file Form 8938 stating, "U.S. taxpayers with specified foreign financial assets that exceed certain thresholds must report these assets to the IRS".
On the same day, the U.S Treasury released a 'Joint Statement' with the governments of France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom "Regarding an intergovernmental approach to improving international tax compliance and implementing FATCA".
So what the FATCA just happened? In layman's terms, "The U.S. government has once again increased its power and scope of authority to intrude, investigate and regulate virtually every sizable international financial transaction you make starting in 2013."
The focus of this answer is to look at House Resolution 2847, or the HIRE Act (Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act). And within the legislation, under Title V "Offset Provisions", we shall examine one section of Subtitle A, which is where you can go to find more on how to get FATC "Foreign Account Tax Compliant".
Here are some highlights of "Change You Can Believe In". When Americans wish to send money offshore next year, we find it reads in Part 1, Section 501(a), Chapter 4, Section 1474(a):
"In the case of any withholdable payment to a foreign financial institute which does not meet the requirements of subsection (b), the withholding agent with respect to such payment shall deduct and withhold from such payment a tax equal to 30 percent of the amount of such payment."
The aggregate amount for foreign financial assets has initially been set exceeding $50,000. Eerily, the federal income tax started at a mere 3% wartime tax, was never repealed, and has brackets today well over 40%. History has demonstrated governments will expand their power and attempt to lower this $50,000 threshold.
The term "withholdable payment" is broad and covers virtually all salaries, wages, dividends, annuities, periodical gains, profits, and income; or gross proceeds from the sale of property which can produce interest or dividends from sources in the United States.
The term "foreign financial institution" does not refer to just offshore institutions, but any financial institution which does not meet the requirements of subsection (b) to "comply with such verification and due diligence procedures as the Secretary may require with respect to the identification of U.S. accounts." And if any financial institution is not in compliance with these yet to-be-determined procedures required by the Secretary before 2013 (some by 2014) then such financial institutions shall be considered "foreign".
The term "withholding agent" refers to the bank who is sending the money and is responsible for deducting the payment. Generally, banks charge a fee to send a wire transfer and are not designed to be an administrative body capable of determining if the receiving financial institution has a tax-sharing agreement with the IRS and is currently in compliance with the requirements of subsection (b).
Under this law, foreign financial institutions shall be pressured to report the name, address, and Tax Identification Number (TIN) of each account which has a United States person as a beneficial owner, including foreign entities. Banks will be forced to disclose account numbers, balances, receipts, withdrawals and payments.
So, in short, Obama has turned your bank and financial institutions around the world, into tax policemen. Since banks will not assume any liability for failing to withhold the 30% from your transactions, they will likely turn these payments over to the IRS or will begin refusing to comply with the disclosure requirements altogether and close-out the accounts of American citizens as has Hong Kong, Switzerland and other prominent jurisdictions.
Americans have never had so many reasons to protect their assets than with the passage of this Draconian bill.
When you buy a business in Belize, first you have to register whatever company you are going to be assuming. Other issues include working it out the arrangement with the seller and the government going through the transfer information. Depending on what the volume of sales are, you are going to need s GST (General Sales Tax) number.
When you buy a business in Belize, first you have to register whatever company you are going to be assuming. Other issues include working it out the arrangement with the seller and the government going through the transfer information. Depending on what the volume of sales are, you are going to need s GST (General Sales Tax) number.
Dr. Carlos Alemán - Centro de Diseño Denta (Clínica Dental)
I don’t generally go fishing but recently we went to Rio San Juan, which is the river that divides Costa Rica and Nicaragua and there is a big fishing competition there. People from other countries and also the locals join the fishing competitions. There are also nice places in San Juan del Sur where people go fishing on the ocean.
Local people in Granada go fishing in the marina. Some people also have their own boats and that’s where...
I don’t generally go fishing but recently we went to Rio San Juan, which is the river that divides Costa Rica and Nicaragua and there is a big fishing competition there. People from other countries and also the locals join the fishing competitions. There are also nice places in San Juan del Sur where people go fishing on the ocean.
Local people in Granada go fishing in the marina. Some people also have their own boats and that’s where they go fishing. You can also go fishing in Isla Zapatera, which is also on the Lake Nicaragua. You can go fishing on the ocean in San Juan del Sur and in Rio San Juan. You can rent a boat and have a boatman accompany you to tell you what you need. They rent out boating gear and you can bring your food or a couple of beers while you fish.
We have Lake Managua but people in general do not go there to fish. Some people do it just out of necessity but it is not a tourist spot and the water is polluted. They’re in the process of cleaning the waters of Lake Managua because it has been polluted by the people over the last several years. The countries of Spain and Germany made contributions to have a treatment center so that the water does not go to Lake Managua so it’s getting cleaner after the treatments.
Wouldn’t it have been nice if, when you were growing up, you had an aunt who was always there when you needed her, who understood you, who always seemed to know what you needed and gave it to you, but who didn’t ask for anything in return? The one who, if you got into an argument with your parents, you could go to? Who would not be judgmental, and would help to make everything right? Putting aside the lopsidedness of such a relationship, we came to view Ajijic as that...
To take a line from his own newsletter, Nica Nuggets, for and about the expats of Granada, Nicaragua, Darrell Bushnell is as busy as a one-legged rooster in a three-story hen house. Jet Metier talks to the man who mesmerizes her with his tales of his life in the land of fresh water sharks and steaming volcanoes.
Jet Metier: How are you Darrell? How are Amy and the dogs? I like to think of you starting the morning doing something wonderful and unique...
We took a day trip to Volcan and stopped by this school to see the entertainment. Costa Rican folk dancers performed for the children and we enjoyed watching them. ...
Mexico is a Spanish-speaking country so the Spanish contract takes control in the court. However, normally the sales contracts are done in English. As an example, here in Chapala, we have a group and we use the same type of contract in all of our offices. We have the contrast in English and Spanish. 
Yes, you can get a good caregiver in Portugal. But the way to do it in Portugal is not to just put an advert and wait for people to knock on your door and expect someone who is brilliant. You have to to have references like any other country in the world. Even in America, if you want a babysitter, you want references. You want someone who knows that person and that’s exactly the same here in Portugal..jpg)
The overall cost of living in Boquete depends on what kind of house that you live in. When I first moved here I paid $600 a month for rent for a little 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom house. That was all-inclusive; furnished, all utilities included, but it was only about 1,200 square feet. There are other people who live in a gated community in a 5,000 square foot house and their cost is going to be more. 
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I don’t generally go fishing but recently we went to Rio San Juan, which is the river that divides Costa Rica and Nicaragua and there is a big fishing competition there. People from other countries and also the locals join the fishing competitions. There are also nice places in San Juan del Sur where people go fishing on the ocean. .jpg)
Wouldn’t it have been nice if, when you were growing up, you had an aunt who was always there when you needed her, who understood you, who always seemed to know what you needed and gave it to you, but who didn’t ask for anything in return? The one who, if you got into an argument with your parents, you could go to? Who would not be judgmental, and would help to make everything right? Putting aside the lopsidedness of such a relationship, we came to view Ajijic as that...
We took a day trip to Volcan and stopped by this school to see the entertainment. Costa Rican folk dancers performed for the children and we enjoyed watching them. ...